Just Another Mission
by aquaryuugekkou
Summary: Team 7 on a mission that turns out to be more challenging than they thought.  Short and sweet....and preSasukedrama.


Kakashi straightened up from a crouching position to survey the area around him. His hands were bleeding and he could feel bruises forming on his legs, but he ignored the pain to verify that he hadn't left anything alive. A drop of sweat trickled down behind his left ear. Even though the sun was about to set, it was still stifling in the summer air. He took a deep breath when he confirmed that all the targets were indeed, lying dead and broken on the ground, and looked around to find the rest of Team 7. He had lost track of them in the frenzy of dealing with his own offenders. He heard a grunt of pain behind him and turned. Clearly, they hadn't faired as well as he.

Sakura was lying on the ground underneath a tree, panting and clutching a bloody left arm. She struggled to sit up and caught sight of her sensei looking at her.

"This is impossible!"

She brushed the hair off her sweaty forehead, leaving a streak of blood and dirt over her eyebrows. She heard a yell from the other end of the field and craned her neck over her right shoulder to see who it was. Kakashi followed her gaze and saw Naruto, or rather, ten Naruto's pulling frantically at a shrub that looked as if it had been there since the beginning of time. They could hear him shouting, "Don't you know who I am, you stupid plant?"

Sakura wearily climbed to her feet and turned once again to face the weed that had been battling her for the last hour and a half.

"I don't know what else to throw at it!"

Kakashi patted her awkwardly on the head and said, "You'll think of something."

He turned and began heading towards the well at the edge of the pasture, pulling an orange book out of his pocket. She gave his retreating back a cold look and her inner Sakura shouted, "Some help you are, you pervert!"

She massaged her aching shoulder and was about ready to recommence her attack on the weed when a great tearing noise floated across the field. She turned once again to see the ten Narutos dancing around the roots of the shrub, which they had finally ripped out of the earth. His replications were hugging each other and whooping, "I am the great Uzumaki Naruto! No plant can stand in my way!" He stopped dancing long enough to point to Sasuke, who had poked his head around a large clump of bushes, which until now had kept him hidden from view.

"Sasuke-kun!" Naruto shouted gleefully. "I _told_ you I would beat you!"

The young Uchiha scowled at him and disappeared once again behind the flora. An instant later, they heard him growl, "Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!" and the entire clump of bushes went up in a ball of fire, sending birds flying anxiously from the surrounding trees. Once the flames had died down, Sasuke sauntered around the edge of the charred earth, hands in his pockets and a smug smile on his face.

"Mine looked cooler," he muttered to the still triumphant-looking Naruto who elbowed him as he passed as he passed.

Naruto fell into step with the dark haired boy as he headed towards Sakura, who was pulling the top of the weed toward the ground with all her strength. As they neared, it slipped out of her hands and went whipping wickedly back to its original position, raining tiny flowers down onto Sakura's head. The girl looked about ready to cry.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan," Naruto said consolingly. "Maybe if we all pull it'll come out. Worked for me. And if not, well, Sasuke can always torch the thing."

Sakura smiled slightly before rising to her feet. They faced the plant with looks of determination. It was all or nothing now. Unfortunately there was no easy way for them all to grip the plant at the same time. They considered the situation for a moment and finally organized themselves into a sort of train, with Sakura holding onto the plant, Sasuke's arms around her waist and Naruto holding his. They each molded chakra into their feet and took a deep breath.

"One," Naruto growled, "Two….THREE!"

They gave a mighty tug and the plant flew from the ground. Their momentum propelled them about ten yards backwards where they landed in a pile, Sakura still holding the weed in a death grip. Its fronds dangled in front of Naruto's face, which was protruding from under Sasuke's leg.

"That was fun," he gasped, Sasuke's weight compressing his diaphragm.

From his relaxed perch in a tree across the pasture, Kakashi shook his head at his students and sighed, "And they said my teamwork exercises were pointless."


End file.
